Embrace the Passion (The Blood Rose Series) Read online

  Seth searched her eyes. I think I might. His next words rushed at her. Lorelei, will you bond with me? Right now, I mean.

  She gasped, stunned that he would suggest the very thing he’d refused to do not even an hour ago. Is this what you want? I mean, of course I will, I want to belong to you more than anything, but are you sure? Is this right for you?

  He moved as close to the tent as he could get so that they were only inches away from each other. I’ve never wanted anything more in my entire life.

  Lorelei felt as though a door opened deep within her soul and a wind swept through making everything new. Love flowed and lit up her mating vibration. She didn’t try to hold back.

  Seth drew in a sudden sharp breath as her vibration reached him. You’re beautiful in every possible way, including your frequency. I love you, Lorelei.

  She wanted the moment to last, but the tougher question had to be answered. Seth, I’m trapped in here. How do I get out?

  I have an idea. I’ve been told the bond is an act of the will so maybe we don’t even need to touch. If we can engage, like we did at Loperz, I think it might be powerful enough to bust you out of here. Are you willing to try?

  Absolutely.

  Seth smiled. I’ve felt your frequency, now I’m going to send you mine, so be prepared, because I’m not holding anything back.

  Her turn to smile. Do it. I’m ready.

  He opened up his mating frequency full-bore, so that it hit her in the chest and took her breath away. Her eyelids fluttered and the pleasure she felt went beyond anything she’d known. Her love for him came alive once more, bursting around her like fireworks as her own mating frequency ignited yet again and flew over his, swirling and savoring.

  I love you, came from his mind once more.

  And I love you, more than I can say. She wanted this so much and she could feel that something in him had changed, that he had no more reservations about completing the blood rose bond with her.

  But she felt another presence as well. From behind his shoulder, she saw that Margetta had transformed into her wraith form and was flying from the south directly toward them. She must have sensed Seth’s presence.

  Margetta!

  Forget about her. Focus instead on me, Lorelei. Bond with me. We have to do this now.

  Lorelei shifted her gaze to Seth. His hair had come loose from the clasp and now flew in a wild way around his head. Waves of power flowed and she opened her arms to receive all that Seth was.

  Power flared and exploded between them, similar but greater than at the Loperz place. The netting disintegrated.

  Seth stepped through, caught her up in his arms and suddenly she was in flight heading upward. She couldn’t think or act, but held her arms wide, absorbing Seth’s combined battle and mating frequencies.

  And suddenly the bond was just there, tight and sure, fixed forever between them and still he flew her up, heading into the snowy sky above.

  Seth’s voice entered her mind. Look down. You have to see this.

  Some of her ability to think returned to her. She slid her arms around his neck and shifted position so that she could see down to the earth below.

  Her hearing resumed so that she heard Margetta’s shrieks before she saw the woman herself.

  The ancient fae, in her wraith form, flew in a circle above the smoking ruins of the prison tent.

  She and Seth had done the impossible by escaping Margetta, but they’d done it together.

  She’ll want revenge and if she can, she’ll take it out on the four gorges. That’s what I felt in the original vision, the one in your house with the alphas present, that she was furious. We need to get back there.

  Seth nodded, but she felt something in him, things he wanted to say.

  She kissed him. Later. Tell me later. Right now, we have your realm to protect.

  The expression of tenderness that entered his eyes, nearly undid her, tearing into her heart and making mush of what was already given to him. Thank you, Lorelei. Thank you.

  He turned them in a southeasterly direction and sped in the direction of Big Timber.

  She understood him. She’d honored his greatest love, his people and his realm, and he valued that more than words could express.

  And she was back in his arms.

  But she felt her mother’s fury and knew that Margetta would hold nothing back from the forthcoming battle.

  Would the Shifter Brigade be enough to turn back Margetta’s Invictus army? Would the alphas work well enough together to be a cohesive unit?

  Chapter Ten

  Seth flew faster than he ever had before. That was the first thing he noticed since having bonded with Lorelei.

  And he felt whole, as though his previous solitary life had reflected only a portion of his realm potential.

  And he had Lorelei in his arms, the biggest surprise of his long-lived life.

  But as he veered south, he felt a powerful, dangerous wind at his back.

  Lorelei’s voice entered his pathway. Do you feel that?

  Yep.

  Mother’s mad.

  I’m sure she is.

  Where are we headed?

  Seth shifted her slightly in his arms. Bephotine Gorge. Ephyx is in charge there.

  He’s the right alpha to use to set the stage and you’re flying faster. She hugged him.

  Seth smiled. It’s because of you.

  Because of us.

  Yes, you’re right. Because of us.

  As soon as he reached the top of the gorge, he pathed to Ephyx. I have Lorelei with me and we’re now bonded. But I have one furious ancient fae on my ass and she has her army with her. Get your men ready.

  We are. Just waiting for your orders.

  There were moments in Seth’s life when the loyalty of his men astonished him. He’d been the ruler of Walvashorr Realm for a very long time, and yes he’d established himself as a warrior and as a tolerant ruler, but that his Shifter Brigade was ready and ‘just waiting’ for his orders, filled his heart with gratitude.

  The Nine Realms savored independence probably more than anything else. Yet, these men waited on him, and conceded to his decisions.

  But tonight, his orders were simple. Fire at will.

  Yes, mastyr.

  Seth contacted the rest of the alphas and delivered the same order.

  Lorelei pathed, We need to be at Big Timber.

  Are you sensing that because of your fae vibration?

  Yes.

  He didn’t wait for further explanation, but shifted course again. He no longer felt Margetta’s wind. No doubt she’d lost track of them.

  But how was he supposed to know what was going on in any of the gorges if he was at Big Timber?

  * * * * * * * * *

  Lorelei felt the weight of her faeness like a heavy cloak around her shoulders. Images kept spinning through her mind, of the alphas, of each of their packs, and of the gorges, one after the other.

  Binding herself to Seth through her mating vibration had resulted in her ability to tap into all that he was. Right now, she experienced his connection to his realm and to his alphas, both of which ignited the shifter part of her that craved a sense of communal belonging.

  As he touched down in the center of the snow-covered outdoor gathering area, where four fire pits still burned, Lorelei had never felt so alert, so ready for anything that might come, including Margetta’s power.

  Once on the solid, snow-covered platform, Seth didn’t let her go, but kept an arm tight around her waist. She felt it, too, the need to stay connected physically while events unfolded.

  She had no idea what would happen next but from the direction of the northwest, she sensed the full expression of her mother’s rage at having lost control of Lorelei again. By now, because of what had happened to the tent, Margetta must know that Seth had bonded with her and had created a new level of power between them.

  Maybe this union was what Margetta had feared, that her wraith-daughter had formed a bon
d with a vampire that had Invictus potential. Of course, Lorelei also knew from conversations with Rosamunde that having blood rose capacity made it impossible to forge a true Invictus bond, the kind of connection that removed the conscience from both wraith and his or her bonded realm-person.

  But the power…

  Yes, the power was there, between them, flowing back and forth, a heavy realm vibration full of all kinds of potential, some of it lethal because of their joined battle frequencies.

  Yet, Lorelei felt in her bones that their power wouldn’t be about slaying the Invictus wraith-pairs, but what exactly they could accomplish together, she didn’t know.

  Her heart thrummed with excitement.

  Seth turned her toward him, searching her eyes. “Tell me what you’re feeling right now.”

  She planted her hands on his arms. His biceps flexed beneath her touch. “As though all the passion you feel for Walvashorr and for the Nine Realms is moving like a whirlwind around us, through us, between us.”

  He smiled and leaned close. He touched his lips to hers, a gentle kiss that felt full of all that he was. She returned the kiss, sending her gratitude for his willingness to leave his solitary world and pull her so completely out of her own isolation.

  When he drew back, he held her gaze once more. “Tell me where Margetta is, what you see, through your faeness?”

  She closed her eyes, focusing the whirlwind on her mother. I see her in flight, her entire Invictus army with her, two hundred pairs and that two of the pairs are the extremely powerful mastyr vampire wraith-pairs, the kind that almost killed Mastyr Quinlan.

  Understood. Can you see where they’re headed?

  She began to describe the array to him, that there were four columns, how fast they were moving, and how each split off in a different direction, toward one of the four gorges.

  Where is Margetta?

  Hovering directly north of us though several miles away. She’s orchestrating.

  Just as we will. Keep feeding me information and I’ll translate what you see to the alphas.

  Seth, it’s the strangest thing, but it’s as though I’ve moved high into the air and I’m looking down at the Shauck Mountains. I can see her armies advance. She squeezed his arms. I’m going to show this to you, or at least try to. Ready? This will come through the battle frequency.

  * * * * * * * * *

  Seth received the images like something he could watch on his flat screen. He opened his telepathy to Ephyx, but on instinct, expanded it. Ephyx, are you seeing this in your mind?

  Holy, shit, mastyr, I’m watching Margetta’s army advance down the gorge.

  Can you translate this for your troops? Can you communicate with your lieutenants?

  Yes.

  Good. This is all new to Lorelei and me, something we’re doing together. I’ll keep sending you these images, but I need to contact the others. If I can, I’ll stream this to each of you at the same time.

  The moment Seth focused on all four alphas at once, what came to him from Lorelei was that she had already separated out each frequency just as she had when she’d connected with the packs earlier. But this time, he felt the different vibrations as very separate streams of energy. Holding all four in his mind, he contacted Cohoet, Valgus, and Alophi like a conference call. Because of his bond with Lorelei, it turned out to be a very simple thing to do.

  He explained what he would do and the moment he let the images stream to Cohoet, Valgus and Alophi, all four alphas gave a shout of triumph at what they were seeing.

  As long as Lorelei and I can stream the images, you’ll know exactly where the enemy is and how to direct your troops.

  The battle unfolded like a dream, Margetta’s army flowing through each gorge, the alphas directing their men, camouflaged and hidden behind rocks or trees, letting arrows fly.

  As soon as either member of a wraith-pair got hit, the other faltered and both fell out of the sky. Shifters sent battle-energy to disable the pairs one after the other.

  The Shifter Brigade especially enjoyed feigning a wound to draw the enemy into a trap. Or they’d run south with wraiths shrieking overhead, and a net would catch their prey.

  They were also quick to help their wounded to safety in nearby caves, where troll and shifter families waited to help the injured.

  Surrounded as he and Lorelei were by her layered enthrallment shields, he had no fear of Margetta, not even when she saw her army dropping like flies before a Shifter Brigade that appeared and disappeared like ghosts behind their camouflage.

  From miles away, he heard Margetta shriek her rage and finally call her army back to her. He heard the cheering from all four alphas and as he stretched his hearing, the sound from the four gorges became a joyous ringing in his ears.

  Lorelei, keep tracking Margetta’s army. We need to see where they go.

  Will do.

  He watched Margetta’s retreat. She took what was about fifty remaining wraith-pairs into the far north, then veered west. She returned to the camp and through Lorelei’s continued vision, he watched as within minutes, tent after tent was struck. Margetta had a huge supply line, which every good general maintained, and a support staff of realm slaves. With her army in flight, he was hoping he would find the ancient fae’s lair.

  Instead, as she reached the northernmost boundary of Walvashorr, Margetta and her army simply disappeared, as though walking into a fog.

  I can’t see them anymore, Lorelei pathed. We’ve lost them.

  And there’s no access point in that part of my realm.

  Lorelei shook her head. I don’t understand. Where do you think they went?

  My guess is that Margetta has a stronghold hidden behind a dozen different spells. She’s retreated for now, but probably intends to rebuild and attack another realm at its most vulnerable point.

  We won’t be able to find her. Lorelei’s voice sounded somber within his mind.

  Seth sighed, knowing that the war would continue. I’ll let the other mastyrs know what happened here and what you and I saw. Beyond that, we’ll have to wait to see what she does next.

  The victory celebration quieted down with the disappearance of Margetta and her troops from the realm. For one thing, each pack had to get on with the business of clearing up the different battle fields, making sure that the injured shifters were taken care of, and determining how many members of each pack had died in the attack.

  In the end, there were only sixteen casualties to the three hundred Invictus that had died during the brief, coordinated battle, an extraordinary occurrence. But the Shifter Brigade had become a disciplined fighting unit and had been extremely well-prepared. Seth also knew that the images he and Lorelei had streamed, had given each pack the information needed to deliver a crushing blow to the entire enemy force.

  The deceased shifters were prepared for their return to family members and each would receive the highest honors for their realm service. But the uninjured and surviving Shifter Brigade warriors began heading for Big Timber.

  The first to arrive built up the four enormous bonfire pits, and case after case of dark ale made its way out of the cellars of the main lodge.

  In addition, hundreds of realm-folk soon streamed into the area, and a major celebration was underway.

  * * * * * * * * *

  Lorelei held Seth’s hand and had never known such joy.

  From the time Margetta had taken the remnants of her army out of Walvashorr, Seth hadn’t let go of her once, not even when the alphas arrived ready to do high-fives and congratulatory chest bumps.

  At first, she thought he was still afraid that the moment Jude showed up, she’d be all over his fellow mastyr.

  But when Jude finally arrived, Lorelei felt nothing for him, no impulse to go to him or to feed him.

  Jude’s brows rose as he settled his gaze on her, then shifted his attention to Seth. He nodded knowingly several times, a smile on his lips. “You’ve bonded, I see.”

  Seth’s chest puffed
a little, something that made Lorelei smile as he said, “We have.”

  Jude clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m happy for you.”

  “Thanks. The way this is going, you’ll have your turn as well, just be prepared and try to be open.”

  “Easy for you to say.”

  “It’s easy now, but you’re right.” He glanced at Lorelei and squeezed her hand. “Getting to this place wasn’t simple, mostly because I didn’t believe myself worthy.”

  Jude snorted. “You, of all the mastyrs I know, deserve to have a woman like Lorelei.”

  Seth cleared his throat a couple of times. “I think there might be a few bottles of ale with your name on them.”

  “I’m hearing the call even now.” Jude waggled his brows. He then wished them both a realm-full of happiness, afterward heading toward the long table now laden with cases of brew.

  Even after Jude left, Seth kept a tight clasp on her hand.

  As she walked beside him and up the steps of the main lodge, her heart swelled. The alphas were inside and had called for them both.

  The doors swung wide, and as they crossed the threshold, a thunderous cheer rang to the three-story high rafters. The space was packed full of triumphant warriors, as many within as there were outside in the snow. Each held a bottle of ale in hand.

  Lorelei realized that part of her joy had to do with the men and women before her, all shifters of Walvashorr, the place she now belonged.

  When the roar quieted, Seth raised his bottle of ale with his left hand. “To the finest Shifter Brigade in the Nine Realms.”

  Another deafening cheer pushed against the rafters. Lorelei drank to the toast, and found the heavy, bitter ale the most wonderful flavor on her tongue.

  Ephyx called out, “To our regis and the prime female.”

  The cheers, shouts, and stamping of feet that followed brought a painful grin to Lorelei’s cheeks and tears to her eyes. She’d found an unlikely home in Walvashorr as the blood rose to Mastyr Seth and the prime female to the four shifter packs of the realm.

  Several more toasts followed, as each pack honored their leaders and lieutenants and as Seth offered a final word on behalf of the several men and one female shifter who’d given their lives tonight on behalf of their fellow realm-folk. Observing a long minute of silence, Lorelei bowed her head and blessed their swift journeys into the arms of the Goddess. She added another blessing for those enslaved realm-folk, who had succumbed to the Invictus wraith-bonding.